The Horn Book Guide

EASY READERS

Gantos, Jack

Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph

48 pp. | Farrar | February, 2011 | Trade ISBN 978-0-374-36354-3 $16.99

(3) K-3 Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader series. Illustrated by Nicole Rubel. Ralph spends more time dreaming of glory than practicing, so instead of earning a spot on the baseball team, he's given the job of "cat boy." In true Rotten Ralph spirit, the story's message never gets too message-y, thanks largely to impish embellishments--as when Ralph spits in all the players' new gloves to soften them--in both art and text.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann